Off-duty RNLI lifeguard from East Yorkshire saves baby from choking

Lifeguards News Release

Thursday 31 May 2018

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeguard Lauren Cooke will never forget her recent holiday to Crete. The 19-year-old was having dinner with her family in a beachside restaurant, when she stepped in to save a baby from choking.

The restaurant was fairly quiet with only one other family eating there, which ensured that Lauren instantly heard the cries for help from the distressed parents.

Lauren, who patrols beaches in East Yorkshire during the summer, explained, ‘The child’s mother and father were panicking as they didn’t know what to do and were beside themselves. The dad was trying to stop the nine-month-old from choking by slapping his back.

‘As an RNLI lifeguard we receive comprehensive casualty care training from the charity. Even though I was on holiday, these lifesaving skills immediately kicked in, I don’t think they ever really leave you.

‘When I approached, the little boy was turning blue in the face, so I knew that time was critical and that I had to act quickly. I performed five slaps on his back and one chest thrust. Thankfully this dislodged the food from his windpipe and he started breathing again. I continued to monitor him until his breathing normalised.

‘His parents were so relived once he started to get his colour back, their fear and panic simply drained away. They were so overwhelmed and couldn’t thank me enough. On my advice they then took him to hospital for a check-up.

‘If I hadn’t been in that restaurant that night, it could have been a very different story. I‘m just so grateful that I was in the right place at the right time - it’s certainly a holiday I’ll never forget.’

RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor, David Brant said: ‘We’re so proud of Lauren and she’s a real asset to our charity, even when she was off-duty and on holiday, she immediately knew what to do.

‘Without Lauren’s swift intervention the little boy might not have survived.
It’s testament to the RNLI’s stringent training programme and Lauren’s cool head that the situation had a happy outcome.’

RNLI Picture caption

The photograph shows RNLI lifeguard, Lauren Cooke. Credit: RNLI.

RNLI media contacts

For more information, please contact Clare Hopps, RNLI Regional Media Officer, North East and East on: 07824 518641 or at
clare_hopps@rnli.org.uk

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates over 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.